Sweet Surrender
by Sheba's Fire
Summary: When 17 year old Shea takes accepts a ride from a handsome guy, little does she know that she is stepping into a dangerous adventure filled with vampires, werewolves, and hidden secrets.
1. Mistakes

_Hey everyone! This is my first ever fanfic, so please R&R! Feel free to give me any ideas or suggestions. _

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_Not now... _Shea thought... _Not now..._

Looking up at the dark clouds above her head, Shea knew in her gut that she shouldn't have walked. She was already late getting to Friendly's; her shift had started five minutes ago, and she still had 6 blocks to walk.

The rain hit Shea like a wave, soaking through her clothes. Shivering with the cold, Shea crossed her arms over her chest, put her head down and walked faster. Her auburn hair was plastered to her face, and her striking green eyes were half closed in an effort to keep the rain out.

_Meg is gonna kill me for getting her sneakers wet._

That we the drawback to wearing your older sister's things. You ruin them, or damage them in any way and you pay. But since Meg was a freshman at the community college, and she held a part time job, Shea didn't get to see her much, even though she did live at home.

_Too late to do anything about the shoes now, though, _Shea thought as she continued to plow through the rain.

A car was pulling up behind her through the rain. Looking over her shoulder, Shea saw that the blue Honda was pulling up beside her and the window was being rolled down.

'Hey, do you need a lift?'

Shea looked to see the most handsome guy she had ever laid eyes on, calling out the window to her. His black hair flopped over his forehead, and his eyes shown like deep brown pools against his pale skin. But his smile was the thing that caught Shea's attention. It was the most disarming smile that she had ever seen.

In her mind's eye, Shea could see her mom, telling her that she should never get into a car with a stranger, especially a guy. But his smile was so inviting, Shea found herself answering before her mind had made itself up.

'Oh my God, you're a life saver. You have no idea,' Shea replied, rushing around the car to the passenger side. Realizing with a start that there was a girl in the front seat, Shea opened the back door and flung her backpack in before scrambling into the dry seat and shutting the door behind her.

Turning around in his seat, the guy looked at Shea and smiled again, his eyes glinting with something Shea couldn't pinpoint.

'Where are you heading to?' he asked

'Just to the Friendly's down the street; my shift started, like, ten minutes ago.'

'Sure, no problem.' Turning back around in his seat, Shea heard the click of the car doors locking as the car started to move. 'We were actually just about to grab a bite to eat anyway.' At this, the girl in the front seat made a sound like a strangled laugh, but fell silent at a look from the guy.

'By the way, my name's Jason, and this is my friend Amanda.'

'And I'm Shea. Thanks again for the ride.'

Shea fond herself staring at Jason's profile. How on earth could someone be this good looking? She would definitely have to get his number before she left. Ripping her eyes away from his face, Shea looked out the window and realized with a start that they were almost to the restaurant.

'It's right up here' she said, breaking the silence when she realized that the car wasn't slowing down.

'I know, but I thought we'd take a little detour first.'

'What.. what?' Shea's brain went into panic mode as the Honda passed the Friendly's, not slowing down a bit. Feeling along the door, Shea realized that she couldn't feel a handle. Her eyes flicked over the door frantically, and then to the other side of the car to the other door. There were no handles.

'You can't get out, love. It's locked.' Jason looked back at Shea through the rearview mirror. Seeing his eyes again, Shea realized what had been so off about them earlier. Instead of being brown, they were black.

_Oh my God, Oh my God_. Shea kept frantically feeling the doors, praying she had missed the handle. 'Let me out!' her voice came out as a high squeak. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. 'Please just let me go! I wont tell anyone about you, I promise, please…' she pleaded, but Jason seemed to take no notice.

Realizing that she couldn't get out of the back, Shea tried to reach the front door handle. Maybe if she could get one open, it would distract him, enough and she'd be able to get away.

An icy hand gripped her wrist as she groped along the door. Shea froze. She had never felt someone that cold in her life. It wasn't normal.

'Now, now that won't do, will it?' Jason asked, a smirk across his face. He had such a strong grip on her arm, Shea couldn't get it loose. As she struggled against his hold, she felt the cold tip of a needle slide into her arm.

Instantly the car started to spin, and Shea felt herself slipping down onto the seat, all control of her muscles gone, the darkness closing in on her.

'Good night Shea… Sweet dreams,' She heard his voice drifting towards her as she slipped into unconsciousness.


	2. Encounter

**Author's note: Here's another chapter... hopefully you all like... make sure you R&R!!**

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Everything hurt. Her head, her arms, even her fingers throbbed. Shea didn't want to open her eyes. Where was she? Maybe if she just kept her eyes closed and slept it would all go away. 

_No…no_. She had to think. Don't give in. First things first. Open the eyes.

Shea's eyes fluttered open, but all she saw was black. Blinking a few times, Shea turned her head to the side. She was laying on a dark crimson sofa, which had been pushed up against a wall. Across from her was another crimson chair, sitting in front of a large, stone fireplace, with a small fire dancing within it. All the walls were black, as was the ceiling, although the carpet was the red color of the chairs. Being no windows, the only source of light was from the fire, although there were unlit torches in brackets placed along the walls.

Slowly moving herself into a sitting position, Shea winced, but the throbbing was lessening now. She pushed herself off the sofa and onto her feet, which were still a bit wobbly. Unsteadily, Shea made her way slowly over to the wooden door that was set into the wall. She leaned against it, hoping to hear something, anything from the other side. But there was no sound and when she tried the door handle, it was locked.

She tried pushing on the door, then leaning back and throwing her weight at it, but it was not use. The door still stood, a solid barrier between her and the outside.

There was nothing for it. Shea would just have to wait until someone came in and opened the door. There was no way out. She sunk into the chair and stared into the fire, mesmerized by the dancing flames. They seemed so free, yet, like her, they were trapped; not able to leave the confines of the hearth.

A soft click from the door behind her made Shea jump, breaking her concentration. She turned around to see someone standing in the now open doorway.

'It's nice to see that you're finally awake. I was beginning to worry; you'd be no use if you had died.'

Jason walked away from the door, which he had closed again, but didn't lock. He went to the sofa and sat down, relaxing back into the cushions. He studied her, his brown eyes searching her face.

'I'm sure you want to know why you are here.' He looked over at Shea, his eyebrows raised. When she showed no response, he started again. 'Let's start by talking a little bit about your sister; Meg, isn't it? Yes, I thought so…'

Shea had jumped when Jason mentioned her sister's name. Fear flooded through her, turning her palms sweaty. She glanced at the still unlocked door. If she could make it to the door before him, she might be able to shut and lock it, keeping him from chasing her. If only she weren't still feeling so weak, she might have a better chance, but who knew how long it would be before she got another shot? Glancing back at him, Shea realized Jason was talking again, his eyes closed, reclining with his arms behind his head.

'There's a lot you don't know about your sister Shea. Where is she when she's gone all those nights, huh? Working or staying over with friends? I'm sure that's what she tells you, but I know differently. She likes the wild life, your sister. Most nights she's at the clubs, but sometimes, when she meets someone she fancies…well lets just say those are the nights she doesn't come home.'

Shea froze, anger building in her. How could this man talk about her sister that way? He had no right!

'Three nights ago, she got into a little trouble with one of the men at the bar. One of my friends helped by beating the guy up, but your sister didn't see fit to repay him for his trouble.'

Shea shifted in her chair, watching him for any signs of movement. She was trying to block out what he was saying, but she couldn't entirely. Those things weren't true. _They can't be…_ she thought.

'So your sister ran… Seth let her go, but he still wants rewarded for his trouble…'

She couldn't take it any more. She leapt out of her chair and scrambled for the door. She wrenched it open, flinging it wide, starting to run…

A fist caught her in the side of the face. He was there, in front of her, shoving her backwards, back into the room. She struggled, trying to get past him, but a hard shove pushed her to the floor, onto the carpet. She scrambled back to her feet. He was advancing on her, his face distorted with rage, fists clenched by his side. Shea backed into the wall. No where to go… she was trapped… _No…No… _

She made one last feeble attempt to run around him, but she was weak, the attempt had exhausted her. He grabbed her, shoving her against the wall, pinning her there.

'You thought you'd get through did you?' He hissed. His eyes were black again, just like she had seen them in the car. 'Your no match for me. The only way you're going to live through this is if you're not dumb. That was dumb.'

Jason's mouth turned upward into a grin, drawing Shea's attention back to his face. His incisors were abnormally large, fangs…

'Her blood, Shea, he wants her blood.'


	3. Questions

Hey everyone! I'm sorry that this chapter took so long.. i was having some trouble with writer's block, but i think i'm back on track, so hope you enjoy! R&R

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As a child, Shea had heard stories of werewolves and vampires, of merpeople and dragons. Every child does. But the older she got, the more unrealistic those stories had become for Shea. Oh sure, there was the occasional story of someone getting bitten, or the stories of boats being led into reefs by the majestic voice of a mermaid. But Shea just brushed them off as crazies trying to get their fifteen minutes of fame. She had never really believed them, but now, looking into Jason's face, his large fangs – there was nothing else she could call them – made her rethink all of that. Was it possible? She tilted her eyes up into his, but this too made her freeze. A strange look of anger mixed with a hunger forced Shea to turn her head away. 

Releasing the pressure that held her to the wall, Jason kept a tight hold on her wrist, as he pulled her towards the door which he once again shut and locked, putting the key back into his pocket. When he had made sure that the door was secure, he let Shea's arm go, and turned his angry glare back on her. 'Don't think that you can ever get away that easily. We'll always be able to find you, don't doubt that, and if you try, it will be worse for you in the end.' His air of calm seemed to be returning, his eyes were back to their normal color, and his teeth were straight again.

'Now as I was saying before your little _episode,_ my friend wants your sister. He's been tracking her for the last few days, but it hasn't been as easy as he thought, and he's getting a little tired. So, he decided that the fastest way was to threaten one of the things that she loved best. And, that my dear, would be you.'

His brown eyes pierced Shea's own, and they seemed to be looking right into her mind and thoughts, into her very soul. She turned away again, this look being to intimate for her comfort. The side of her head hurt where she had been hit, and reaching up, Shea felt a bruise forming. As for her wrist, there was the red marks of his hand imprinted on her skin.

Gathering up her courage, Shea looked at Jason and ask the question that had been on her mind. 'What is your friend planning on doing to me? Just tell me so that I know what's coming.'

'No, he's not planning on killing you, if that's what you're asking. At least, he isn't as long as you cooperate and don't try to pull another stunt like the one you just did. Beyond that, I don't know myself. I just advise that you do what is asked of you, and stay out of trouble.'

Jason stood up from the couch, and made his way over to the door, and pulling out the key, he unlocked it and walked through, pausing only for a minute to tell Shea that her dinner would be up in a couple of minutes, and if she needed to use the bathroom, to yell and a guard would let her out.

Shea's mind was still numb with what Jason had told her, and what she had seen. Vampires? Blood? Did she really dare believe what she was thinking? But what other explanation was there? She didn't have answers to any of these questions, and as she curled back up into the armchair, her mind gladly welcomed to sleep that was waiting to claim her.

When Shea awoke, it was to the smell of food coming from a trolley over by the door. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of it, and until now, she hadn't realized how hungry she really was. Getting up slowly, she walked over to the tray and saw a plate of turkey and stuffing, drowned in gravy, with a heap of mashed potatoes and a glass of cola sitting beside it. Grabbing the plate, Shea went over to the couch and devoured the food faster than she had ever eaten in her life. As she raised the cold glass to her lips, the lock in the door clicked again, and a girl came in this time, dressed in black pants and a white shirt. She stood at the door, as though waiting for something. Shea finally realized that she was here to take the dinner tray, so she put her empty plate on the trolley, and told the girl that she wasn't finished with the glass. Pulling the tray out behind her, the maid pulled the door closed behind her, but She didn't hear the sound of the lock turning.

Hoping beyond hope, Shea approached the door and tried the handle. It turned under her fingers, making her heart leap in excitement. Listen for a minute through the wood, Shea determined that there was no one on the other side, so she opened the door slightly and looked out.

Expecting to see into more darkness, Shea was startled when she tiptoed out of the room into a brightly lit hallway. Her eyes took a minute to adjust to the light, and she saw that doors lined each side of the corridor, and a large bay window with heavy draperies pulled over it was at the other end. The light came from lamps attached to the walls between doors. Creeping her way down the hall, Shea heard the sound of voices coming from one of the rooms on her left. She pressed her ear to it, and was surprised to hear Jason's voice arguing with someone.

'No! We can't do that to her. I agreed to help you…'

'Yes, but plans have changed Jason.' The voice was unfamiliar to Shea and it seemed to be calm, if a little agitated. 'I need to know! That is the only way we are ever going to find the girl. Do you have a better suggestion?'

'I'm sure we can think of something that doesn't involve…' Jason's voice trailed off into a sigh. 'I'll only agree if you promise me that you won't kill her.'

'Now, you know that I can't do that. I'll try my best but I can't promise anything.'

'Then the answer's no.'

'You have no choice. Either you help, or I get someone who will.'

The voices went quiet for a minute, and Shea could hear the sound of breathing coming through the door.

'I'll think about it, and let you know in the morning.' Jason's voice was moving closer to the door. Shea jumped back, knowing that if she were caught this time, she probably wouldn't be quite so lucky to get off barely hurt. She scampered quickly down the hall, back to her room, and was just shutting the door behind her as the door down the hall opened and Jason stepped out.

Breathing heavily, her heart beating franticly from nearly being caught, Shea threw herself into the armchair. Had they been talking about her? What did they need to find out, and why was Jason so intent on her being kept alive?


	4. Angry Eyes

Thank you all for your reviews, and i am proud to present to you another chapter! Enjoy.

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Later that day,(or was it night?) a maid came into Shea's room again, carrying a shopping bag. She was no more than 24, with blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun, and she was dressed just like the other maid who had come in before her. She placed the bag on the sofa next to Shea before backing up towards the door again.

'The Master wants you to put this on and be ready to come downstairs in 20 minutes. You're to meet with the council tonight. He said that if you wanted, I could do your hair for you quickly… however, if your not comfortable with that, it is the same to him.' She shifted nervously from one foot to the other, as if she were afraid Shea was going to spit fire or something.

'No.. I don't think that I do, but thank you for the offer anyway… because I've decided that I'm not going.' Something about the girl drew Shea in, not for the same reasons that Jason had, with his almost hypnotizing eyes and smile, but because this girl was a human girl just like herself.

'Unfortunately miss, you don't have a choice about whether or not you go. He told me to warn you that failing to do what he wanted will only result in pain.'

'Oh so they're still on the pain and death threats are they: Well, go back to your _master_ and tell him that I don't feel like a party today.'

Shea turned her back on the maid and walked over to the fire which never seemed to die. She heard the door close and turned around quickly to se what was in the bag the maid had brought. Reaching her hands in, she felt a light, silky material sliding against her fingers. When she lifted it out of the bag, Shea saw that it was a short, clingy black dress, with a halter top, leaving her shoulders and halfway down her back exposed. The neckline was low, but not too revealing. She reached back into the bag a pulled out a pair of black strapped heels that fit the dress perfectly. Whoever had picked the outfit out certainly had a good fashion sense. But she wasn't going to but told when and what she had to wear! Did they think she was some kind of doll?

Shea had tried to avoid thinking about what Jason had told her about Meg, but now her thoughts strayed towards her sister. It was true, Shea hadn't seen Meg in a couple of days, but there hadn't been any reason to worry; or so Shea had thought. What did the want with her sister? Well, if they thought Shea was going to be the way they got to Meg, they were utterly mistaken.

Standing there, it finally hit Shea what had happened to her. These… _Things _(Shea still didn't know what to believe)… had kidnapped her! She was stuck in a locked room, in a house that she didn't know. They had taken her away from her family; her life.

Shea sank to the floor, her knees giving out form under her. The ears came, hot and wet, rolling down her cheeks in streaks. When she put her head in her hands, Shea could feel the bruise on her face from Jason hitting her. The sobs racked through her body as she tried to cry out all her emotions.

So absorbed was Shea that she didn't hear a key being inserted into the locked door and turned. However, when the door flew open with such a power it hit the wall and left a hole where the doorknob hit, she looked up, startled and fearful.

A man of about 28 stood in framed in the doorway. He was wearing a completely black suit, with black hair and a clean shaven face. But his eyes, like Jason's, drew her attention. They were deep crimson, anger shooting form them so strong, Shea could almost feel them penetrating her skin.

She hastily whipped her cheeks and stood up, backing towards the wall slightly. This man gave off a presence that made you afraid, and his face radiated anger.

'Melissa has told me that you don't find it necessary to obey you orders.' The man stepped into the room and advanced on Shea, who bumped into the back wall. She was terrified more than she had ever been. But she didn't want to be pushed around like a puppet on strings.

'No. I don't. And I am not going to do anything that I don't want to.' Shea hoped that he didn't hear the shake in her voice.

Before she knew what as happening, Shea found herself flying across the room onto the sofa. Her head snapped back, and her legs hit the edge with such force she heard a thud which resulted in a throbbing pain.

'What did you just say to me?' He hissed, standing over her with those angry eyes.

When Shea didn't answer, but just looked away, his hand hit her face with such force her head snapped to the side. It had felt like a stone slapping her, and it brought tears to her eyes and a whimper out of her mouth.

'Answer me'

'N-nothing. I-I didn't say anything.' Stuttered Shea. Her jaw heart as she moved her mouth to talk.

'Good, that's what I thought. I will have you know that I do not tolerate rudeness in this house. Now, if you would be so kind as to join us downstairs.' It was a statement, not a question. 'I am going to wait outside the door, and if you don't come out dressed in five minutes, you are going to be severely sorry.' He stalked out of the room, still looking angry.

Shea saw no other choice but to do what she had been told. She slowly got up off the couch, her legs throbbing painfully, and a headache forming form where she had been hit. Reaching up, Shea could feel a lump forming over her previous bruise form Jason, and pulling her hand down, there was blood on her fingertips. She must have a cut by her hair.

Shea slowly put on the dress and heels, trying not to hurt herself too much.

She walked unsteadily to the door, but she was determined to show strength, not weakness to her captor. For this was the man that Shea had heard talking with Jason earlier. As she opened the door, she ignored the pains and walked out to the man.

He gripped her arm in such a way that it almost might have looked like they were walking as a couple, but the grip he had on her was too tight, and she knew there was nothing friendly about his touch.

They walked down the hallway and reached a staircase, which led down to a large hall. A set of French doors stood to their left and she was pulled roughly through them.

Before her was a large room that had elevated seating, almost like a movie theatre. A stage was set up instead of a screen however. It was this stage the two had entered on to. And seated in the seats, facing them, at least fifty of the most beautiful men and women Shea had ever seen. However, each one had a set of eyes that stood out black against their pale skin. And all eyes were on her.


	5. The Council

Hi Everyone! I am really sorr that it took so long for me to update, I promise the next one will be up sooner, cause I already have it written. MAKE SURE YOU R&R! I want to make sure that you guys like the story and want me to keep going... remember, reviews keep me motivated!

p.s. I changed the view to first person, because it seemed to be more natural.. tell me what you guys think

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I stood awestruck at all the faces. I could feel myself starting to get dizzy and the blood drained from my face.

I had always been afraid of crowds; never a good public speaker. One time, at sixthe grade graduation, I had been the valedictorian of my class, and was supposed to give a speech for all the parents and the other kids. But as I started, my lunch suddenly decided that it wasn't agreeing with my stomach and I had barfed all over the school principal.

'Breathe.' I told myself firmly, trying not to think of all those eyes. 'Just breathe.'

Looking up at the ceiling, I blocked out everything and just payed attention to not passing out again. (I seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.) When I finally got a hold of my stomach and spinning head, I realized that the man was addressing the crowd, which had turned their eyes form me to him.

'Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the council,' he said, his voice as soft as velvet and dripping with courtesy. 'As you all very well know, we have had a very trying past couple of months. Our people have been stalked, ambushed, and attacked. Our friends and family are being killed daily. I have, just as I am sure all of you have as well, been struggling to come up with a solution to our present situation. After some considerable research, I have discovered the identity of the leader of the resistance.' His voice rose up in pride and the crowd began to mutter excitedly with one another.

'Her name is Psyche-Rahal. A descent of Jacqueline the Slayer.' A hush fell over the crowd, and I thought I saw a couple people glance around in fear. 'However,' he boomed, ' I have some good news. As I did some searching, I found out one important detail. Psyche seems to have a sister. A human sister. And now I would like to introduce you all to her. Everyone, I would like you to meet Shea Mathros.'

All eyes turned back to me and I could feel anger and hatred burning into my skin like sparks of fire. My legs couldn't take it and my knees buckled under me as I crumpled to the floor. I wasn't to stay there, however. I was jerked roughly back up by icy hands that seemed to burn my skin. I was gripped so tightly that my arms began to grow numb. Out of my half conscious state I could hear my captor bellowing out to the vampire in the seats.

'We have a bargaining chip! Our salvation lies right before our eyes. Imagine the power we can obtain. Now it is our job to decide what we are going to do with this opportunity. As for now, let this be a sign of our future power!'

I could hear the crowd yelling excitedly and jeering as I felt something moving on my neck, although I could get my eyes open to look. A breathe brushed against my throat and a cold, sharp object grazed my flesh before sinking into my vein.

I couldn't fight, my body didn't obey me although my mind was screaming in fear. The pain was unbearable, and my nerves screamed, but I couldn't will my legs to move, or my arms to hit. It was like I was frozen, and I had no control over my body at all. Finally, the pain stopped, and the thing on my throat left.

I felt myself being passed to a different person who picked me up gently, bridle style, and carried me out of the French doors into the hall. I vaguely saw the corridors that I had passed earlier through my half open eyes, but my brain didn't want to focus enough to question anything. I felt the person carrying me open a door, and kick it shut behind him with amazing ease, and I was set down onto a soft cushy surface, and silky covers were pulled up over me.

The pain in my neck was gone, but a slight throb still lingered and hurt with each beat of my heart, which seemed to be racing increadably fast. Probably trying to circulate the blood I had left, and compensate for what I had lost.

After laying there for a few minutes without moving, my hear cleared a bit, and I was able to open my eyes fully. I was laying in a large four poster bed, that was covered in black silk sheets. The wall colors were the same as the room I had been held in before, but there was a window in here, it's shades open and the black starry night was visable through the open curtains.


	6. Explinations

Okay everyone... here's the next chapter! I have decided that if you want to see the next chapter, you have to review at least 5 times. So many of you are viewing, but no one is reviewing! Thanks to those of you who are though...you know who you are!

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I turned my head away from the window, to the opposite side of the room and nearly jumped out of the bed. (At least, I would have if it weren't for the fact that I could still barely move my fingers.) Sitting in a lounge chair was Jason, who was staring at me with a concerned look.

'I thought that you would prefer to sleep in a bed, rather that on a sofa.'

I just stared at him, my mind trying to make my mouth obey. 'What…who…Meg?' I managed to strangle out. 'What were they… what did they mean… slayer? Solution?'

Jason sighed deeply and looked sadly at me. 'It's a long story. I'm assuming youd like to hear it?'

I only nodded, my eyes trained on him.

'Well, it all started about 230 years ago. A vampire named Andromeda was sick of hiding from the humans and trying to co-exist with them. He decided that the best thing for both the humans and the vampires would be to keep the humans under the vampire's control and subdue them. So he built up a vampiric army and attacked the villages in China first. The humans didn't know what they were facing, and they were so unprepared that it was easy to capture them. He managed to conquer all of Europe and most of Asia before 60 years had passed. To help him maintain control of his new empire, Andromeda killed half of the human population, bringing them down to a size that he could manage. They were forced to serve their vampire masters in whatever they were told to do. And that usually meant as a blood donor.'

My eyes widened. I couldn't imagine being a slave to one of those…creatures. But here I was, being held captive almost in the same situation.

'After a few years,' Jason continued, a faraway look in his eyes, 'A group of humans in Southern France led a rebellion against the castle where Andromeda was staying. They wouldn't have made it in, but the attack was unexpected, and the guards were caught unawares. Jacqueline the Slayer managed to make it up to Andromeda's study, and somehow, no one knows exackly what happened, managed to kill him. She led the rebellion to other parts of Europe and Asia. She slayed over 1,000 vampires before she was killed by Dominique of Mongolia. The vampires that had survived her purges fled to Africa and hid, fearing for their lives.

It appeared that Jacqueline had no living descendents. The humans began to repopulate, and slowly, little by little, the story about the war of the past faded from their memories. The vampires began to move back into the human community, back to their old strongholds and began to mingle once again with the humans. Everything seemed to be going fine; you see, we don't have to kill when we drink, so the human is only slightly confused for the next couple of days, but they would never tell anyone about what happened to them, because who would believe them anyway? But within the past couple of months, another group has discovered out existence, and have begun another Resistance. They are intent on driving us out of Eurasia for good. It is a quiet war, but everyday, we are losing our numbers. The Resistance is growing stonger. The council, who you just met, has been trying to stop the purge. And that is were you come in. Your sister, Meg as you call her, is the only living descendent of Jacqueline. The family line has been kept hidden until now. And Meg is leading the Resistance. She has all the powers and abilities of Jacqueline. That is why Caleb has kidnapped you. He is planning to use you as a way to stop your sister.'

My voice had come back in the anger that I felt building inside of me. I could still barely move, as an aftermath from being bitten so violently and losing so much blood, but my mouth was finally listening again.

'But you told me…' I interrupted, but Jason cut me off.

'I know what I told you , but I couldn't tell you the entire truth. I didn't lie when I told you she did a lot of bar hopping, but it wasn't for the reasons that I said earlier. She was hunting for more of our kind. The bars are an easy place to.. well, it's a popular vampire hangout.'

'So you're telling me that my sister, my sister who is off in college, is heading a "kill the vampire" organization?'

Jason's eyes flashed for a minute, almost in annoyance. 'Yes, you could say that I guess. I'm sorry to be telling you this, but Caleb is going to stop at nothing to find her.'

I felt tears springing to my eyes. 'Are they… will the kill her?' I whispered, not wanting to hear the answer, but needing to know.

'If they find her, yes. They will try.' Jason got up form his chair and walked over to the bed, looking down on my face, his brown eyes searching mine. He reached down to my hair, moving it out of my face, and he rubbed his thumb over the palce on my neck where I had been bitten. I shivered involuntarily at his cold touch.

'I'm really sorry,' he whispered so quietly I almost missed it. Suddenly, he leaned down and kissed my forehead lightly, then straightened and turned, walking quickly out of the door.

After he left, I stared stunned at the door, as my hand slowly worked its way up to touch my forehead, where I could still feel his lips on my skin.


	7. Sunlight

And here is another instalment of Sweet Surrender. Hopefully you all enjoy, and thank you all so much for reviewing!! Lets try for five again, since you all did so well.. read, enjoy and review!

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I opened my eyes and looked groggily around the room, slightly confused. It took me a minute to figure out where I was, but after a minute the events of the night before came flooding back to me. I sighed; waking up and not knowing where I was, was starting to become the normal, and I wasn't sure that I liked that.

The room was almost completely dark; only a couple of candles in brackets attached to the ceiling gave light to the dark room. The heavy curtains had been pulled over the window while I was sleeping. Curious, I got up, my feet landing on a plush maroon carpet. Walking over to the window, I reached out and felt the curtains. They were made of a black velvet, and the edges were tucked around the sides of the window so that none of the glass was visible. I pulled the curtains open, and quickly squeezed my eyes shut at the blinding light that came through the panes.

After being in the dark for so long, my eyes took a minute to adjust to the sunlight, but after they did I was amazed by the scene spread out under me.

I was being held in the third floor of an old, stone castle. The grounds were professionally manicured, with a large fountain sitting in the center of a circular driveway. The grounds, as far as I could see, were surrounded by trees, with no other signs of civilization that I could tell. My spirits dropped a little; this would make any attempt at escape that much more difficult.

I perched on the sill, resting my head against the window frame. The sunlight felt so good and warm on my skin after being locked up in the dark for so long. My mind drifted off, thinking about my family, and my house that I didn't know if I would ever see again.

A gasp from behind me jerked me out of my solitude. I was yanked forcefully backwards away from the window and back into the dimly lit room. The maid who had brought the dress to me earlier was hastily tucking the curtains back around the sill, completely blocking out the light once more.

I stood there, startled, as she turned angrily towards me.

'Miss! Don't you ever do that again! That is the number one rule in this house. If a curtain is open, leave it open; and if it is shut, then it stays shut. Leave them the way that you found them. Is that clear?'

I nodded, 'Sorry,' I muttered. This was the most interesting thing that I had ever heard. I was slightly annoyed at the girl, I mean, what had I been doing wrong? Is it against the law to want to see some sunlight? But I wasn't going to say anything. I had learned my lesson about talking back.

The maid began to talk again, but in a softer tone this time. 'I came to see if you wanted to take a bath and freshen up a bit.'

Bath!? I perked up at the very word. Reaching up to feel my hair, I realized it was in a tangled mess. _I must look like a zombie_, I thought. 'That would be wonderful!' I said, unable to keep the excitement out of my voice.

A slight smile flickered over the maid's face; or was it just the shadows? Anyway, I followed the maid out into the hall, and walked down a corridor and stopped at a door on the left. The maid opened it and gestured into the room. I moved toward the room, a bit hesitantly at first, because I couldn't see what was in the room, but as soon as the tub filled with hot water came into my line of sight, with fresh towels sitting on a table beside it, I shut the door eagerly behind me.

I stayed in the tub longer than I needed to, just soaking, taking in the incredible warmth. It took me two shampoos to get all of the dirt out of my hair.

Sighing, I got out of the tub and wrapped myself in one of the towels. Seeing a mirror hanging over the table, I grabbed the second towel and wiped the steam off of the glass. The person looking back in the mirror startled me. It wasn't the same person I had last seen when I looked in a mirror.

My face was shallow looking, and paler that I had been before (which is saying something). My cheek sported a large purple bruise, while my left eye was black and blue. And on my neck was the scariest thing of all. Two puncture marks marred pale skin. A blue bruise surrounded the marks, almost highlighting them.

Seeing the wound made me realize how much control these vampires actually had over me. They could do whatever they wanted, and I had absolutely no control over it. I had to get away as soon as I could, or who knew what would happen to me.

Under the towels were clean clothes; a black adidas sweatshirt along with a pair of boot cut jeans, and a comb. Putting the clothes on, and then taking the comb to my wet hair, I pulled out all the tangles and breathed in the fresh scent of the shampoo. When I had finished, I gathered up all my old clothes and the towels, and pulled open the door.

Leaning on the wall across from me was the person who I had never wanted to see ever again. Caleb's face leered at me as he stood leisurely with his arms folded across his chest. His eyes took in my damp hair and new clothes, but they rested on the bruise he had left on my neck last night.

'Well you certainly look better after a shower, and I think that bruise adds to the beauty of the look.'

I glared at him, remembering the last time I had made a smart comment to him and not wanting to repeat the experience. An icy stare was all I was willing to risk.

'Fine, don't thank me for the complement.' He smirked. 'you do however, need to come with me. Leave those,' he indicated the clothes, 'in the bathroom, and someone will take care of them.'

He watched as I dropped my bundle on the floor. Gesturing for me to walk ahead of him, Caleb pushed off the stone wall and put his hand on the small of my back. I shivered at his touch, but not in the pleasant way that I had when Jason touched me, but a shiver of fear and loathing.

He led me down the same staircase as last night, and towards the French doors again.

'No, No, No…' I panicked.

But instead of going through these doors, we turned to the right and headed down a stone hall with portraits lining the walls. Men and women I had never seen, stared down at me with stern faces, only one or two of the portraits held smiling faces. Under my feet, the floor was covered with a Persian carpet. As Caleb steered me through a large oak door, I thought I saw a vaguely familiar face one of the pictures, but I was pushed into the room too fast to take a closer look.


	8. Promises

AN: Okay everybody... you've been slacking... the only reason i'm putting this one up before you get five reviews is cause I probably won't have much more time to update for a week or two. So you have plenty of time to review... and thanks to those of you who did review last time!! You have no idea how much ur encouragement means to me! Remember, review with suggestions and criticisms too, tell me how to make the story better!

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Inside the room was a single desk with a chair. A fireplace sat in one wall and another curtain covered window was in the other. Sitting on the desk was an old fashioned dial telephone with a blank sheet of paper and a pen sitting next to it. I was pushed towards the chair by Caleb who shut the door behind us.

I looked at him, confused, not sure if this was a joke. Was he really going to let me use the phone? It would have been a dream come true if he hadn't been the one to set it up. I knew there was going to be a catch.

'Now, you have one chance, and only once chance to talk to your sister. You are not allowed to tell her anything about your whereabouts, only tell her who took you. Also tell her that she knows what we want, and if we don't get it, there will be consequences. Other than that, I really don't care what you say. You only have three minutes so make it fast. Do you understand?'

I nodded mutely. I was going to talk to Meg! Maybe she would tell me this was all just a prank, that they were lying to me, and I was going home. Somehow, I didn't think that was going to be the case though.

Caleb was dialing the phone, and he handed it to me. My mind raced. I had to tell Meg something that would help her find me. But how? Did I dare disobey him again?

'Hello?' It was Meg. Oh my gosh, it was so good to hear her voice!

'Meg?' I whispered, tears leaking from my eyes.

'Shea? Shea! Where are you ? Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Talk to me! I promise you, so help me I will kill them all!'

'I-I'm okay. Oh Meg! I don't k-know why they are h-holding me, but they said you would know, oh please Meg, get me out of here!' I couldn't keep the fear out of my voice, and I was choking on tears making it hard to talk.

'Where are you Shea? Tell me!' Meg had calmed down a little bit, but the urgency in her voice alarmed me.

'I can't tell you.. but he said you know what he wants and that he'll let me go if you give it to him.' I know he didn't say that, but I was hoping, and trying not to let my sister know exactly what he had said about consequences.

'That filthy bloodsucker.. I will…'

But I didn't hear what she would do, because fear overcame my caution, and in one fast spew I tried to tell Meg all that I could before Caleb cut me off.

'I'm in a castle; it's surrounded by tons of trees, and Caleb is the one who kidnapped me. I don't know what he wants, but he bit me and the council…' but I was cut short as Caleb slammed his had down on the receiver, breaking it into pieces and cracking the desk.

'How dare you!' he screamed, flinging me backwards off the chair. My back hit the floor, followed by my head, which hit the floor so hard that I saw black.

'I told you…' but he seemed beyond words. His eyes were blood red, all his muscles rippling as he advanced on me. I tried to crawl backwards, but I had reached the wall. The first blow came from nowhere. My head snapped to the side as his fists came into contact with my already black eye. I cried out in pain as he hit me again, this time a backhand against my jaw. My cry seemed to make him even angrier. A swift kick to my stomach forced the air out of my lungs as I doubled over.

His cold hands grabbed me around the throat, and I could see the uncontrollable hunger in his eyes. He was beyond rational thought, and I knew that he wouldn't stop this time until I was dead. He leaned down to bite…

The heavy door burst open. Through my swollen eyes I could see a man rushing at Caleb. His hands left my neck as Caleb was pushed off of me and crashed into the wall. He was pinned by Jason, who was panting with what seemed to be anger.

'You promised me.' He snarled. 'I don't care who you are, you are not to touch her. Do you understand?' The anger and force in his voice caused me to flinch, even from my place across the room.

Caleb didn't seem as shaken as I was though; But his eyes were back to their normal black color.

'If you would be so kind as to put me down…'

'Not until you convince me you won't hurt her.'

They just stared at each other for a minute, almost as though they were having a private conversation. Slowly, Jason backed off of Caleb, letting him off of the wall, his reluctance plain.

'Fine. But if I ever catch you again…' Jason left his sentence hand. Caleb shot a look of pure hatred at me before stalking out of the room.

Turning towards me, Jason's anger drained from his face, and a look of concern came over his features. He walked over to me, and knelt beside the place where I was lying from the floor in pain. He pulled my head into his lap, and stroked my hair, his cool hands soothing the throbbing pain in my face.

'Shea.. sweet Shea, I am so sorry. If I had known what he was going to do I never would have left you alone with him.' His eyes met mine.

I closed my eyes, trying to ease the pain in my swollen eyes, and I breathed in slowly, trying to keep the pain in my ribs at bay.

'How do you… How do you know that he wont do that again?' I asked quietly, still fearing that any minute Caleb would come running back in to attack me again.

'Just leave that to me. I promise you, I won't let him harm as much as one hair on your head.'

I felt myself being lifted up gently off of the floor, and I nestled my head into Jason's chest. All I knew was that I trusted him with all my soul, despite the fact that he was a vampire.


	9. Drawing Lines

Okay... another chapter is here! Thanks for the reviews, once again... and I apologize that it has taken me so long, i was having some family issues which slowed me down. So, here it is... although i need your opinions. I can end this in one or two chapters, or i can keep it going for a while longer. ** REVIEW AND TELL ME YOUR OPINION!!!** Every review I get will be concidered, because I have no clue what to do. So lets try for **8 **this time, since you reached your goal last chapter claps excitedly. Enjoy!

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I passed the hours in the castle by wandering the halls. Jason seemed to think that it was okay for me to wander around. Earlier, he had brought me back to his room again, and sat me on the edge of the bed. Before he left he had made a couple changes in the rules of my confinement. 

'_Shea,' he said, looking down at me. I was curled up on the bed, tired and still sore, but not as dizzy as I had been, nor in quite as much pain. There was still a throbbing in all my muscles, and tenderness when I touched the huge bruises that were forming, but I was able to function now. _

'_I know how hard this must be for you, this isn't how it was supposed to happen. If you give my your word that you will stay in the castle grounds, and you won't try to run off, I can let you wander around. I hate seeing you cooped up in here.' His face showed genuine concern for me, and pity, a look that I'm not sure if I like to much._

'_Okay. Does that mean I can go anywhere?' I asked, the thought of places to explore and an opportunity to walk around and move, and do something excited me._

'_well, within reason, yes. The grounds end at the forest edge, so don't walk into the trees at all. You need to promise.'_

'_Well I…' I hesitated, not wanting to jump into an agreement. He just watched me with his patient eyes. Just looking into them made me want to do anything that he wanted from me. _

'_I guess… well… I promise,' I mumbled looking away from his eyes, and towards the floor. _

I wasn't one to break promises easily, and usually tried to keep them at any cost. But how could I keep this one? Maybe if I waited, and bidded a little time, luck would be on my side, and I'd find an opportunity.

So that's how I ended up getting out of confinement, well, at least confinement to a room. The castle was so large that I hadn't even covered one floor of it yet in the hour I had been exploring. Most of the rooms were decorated like Jason's was, dark, and maroon seemed to be the color of choice. On the third floor alone there were 6 bedrooms, 3 baths, a library, and 2 studies.

As I went from room to room, I limped a little, my ribs still aching, and bruised. But I was able to bear the pain, seeing as it wasn't anything incapacitating. Just moving around gave me a sense of freedom that I hadn't had in days. Freedom… how I longed to be under the sun, the wide open sky… wait. Didn't Jason say that the grounds stopped at the edge of the woods? I could go outside… it was still within the boundaries.

I retraced my previous steps until I came back to Jason's room. Vaguely remembering our previous walks, I found my was down to the first floor, and by asking a maid, I found the door leading out.

I pulled on the door, which was so heavy it took nearly all of my strength to pull it open, and light flooded into the hall. It was blindingly bright after being pent up inside the dim light, and I marveled in the warmth and light. When I moved onto the stone balcony, the heavy door slammed behind me. Apparently someone had shut if from the inside, undoubtedly trying to block out the light.

I wandered around the grounds, among the beautiful flower gardens behind the house. I found myself at the edge of the forest, where the clean cut grass met the wild weeds of the underbrush. Pushing my toes up to this invisible barrier, I looked into the darkness of the thick trees. Fleeing into them seemed so appealing, but I thought before I ran; not only about the promise I had made, but what was I going to do once I got away? I didn't even know what state we were in, never mind which way would lead me to a town.

Lost in thought, I didn't hear the sound of someone sneaking up behind me. A hand pressed over my mouth before I could make a sound. I tried to spin around, to see my attacker, but I was held tightly around the waist. Wait. The hand. It wasn't the cold icy hands that I had been captured by, but instead, it was warm, and very human like.

'Shea. Calm Down. Look at me!' a voice hissed in my ear. I turned my head to see Meg's face inches from my own. I gasped, my eyes widening. Spinning around, I hugged her, squeezing so tight that she chuckled lightly.

'Gosh Shea. Are you okay? It's so good to see you… and judging by how tight you're holding onto me, I'd guess that you don't have any broken bones at least.' She tilted my chin up with her fingers, inspecting my bruised face.

'You poor thing, I can't believe they beat you. Well, yes I can. When I…' but her voice trailed off as her eyes found the bite mark on my neck.

'Shit! He bit you that sonofa…'

'Meg. I'm okay really. Oh, its so good to see you!' Tears sprang to my eyes, and my throat closed up, choking off my words. I buried my head into her shoulder, hiding my tears, and just marveling that she was actually here.

'Okay, now you have to listen to me. I brought some friends of mine with me. We're going to storm the castle, so I need to know how many people are in there. Do you think you can help me Shea?'

'I only know of two vampires.' I spit out that word, still so unfamiliar on my tongue. 'And some servants and maids, but other than that I have no clue.' I glanced back up towards the building, nervously. 'We really should get out; what if someone sees…' I trailed off.

A noise to our left made us both jump, turning towards it.

'It's a little too late to worry about that,' Caleb sneered, watching us smugly. I felt Meg recoil beside me in disgust, although her features looked, almost, annoyed. As though his showing up was only an inconvenience. Only her hand, which had firmly grabbed mine, shook slightly, giving away her anger and nerves.

'Caleb. I should have known. If you wanted to fight, you should have just said so. But if you let me take her, we won't bother you. I'll let you go; I'll let you walk away.'

Caleb just laughed. 'As if you were in the position to bargain with me. All that is bull and you know it. You wouldn't leave us alone, even if your life depended on it, which it does. I just can't believe that you are going to be so selfish as to drag your sister down with you.'

Meg growled audibly. Then she emitted a yelp, almost like that of a dog, into the air. Before I knew what was happening, we were surrounded by a group of people. To my right was a short girl, or about nineteen or twenty, with black pixie cut hair. On the left was an elderly man of sixty. A teenaged boy behind and a middle aged woman in front. Other stood around these, bringing the total to about twenty, including me and Meg. All of them stood at the ready, as though they were tensing for battle.

Almost as if in immediate response to this new group, approximately twenty-five vampires seemed to materialize around Caleb, cutting off our escape route to the forest. Everyone stood motionless, tense and ready, waiting for someone to make a move.

My eyes searched the group of people until they fell on a familiar face. Jason stood at Caleb's right side, his face twisted almost as though he were in pain. His eyes searched toward me, and locked with my own.

'Your move.' Caleb said.


	10. Bonding

Yea!! claps and jumps up and down We made eight! But seeing how I had over one hundred and twenty hits, that does seem kind of low... but thank you all for reviewing.. and to all of you who faithfully review all the time... you know who you are... you guys are so encouraging! Thank you! Lets see now... I know I left it at a cliffy last time, and I tried to do better this time. So... how about we try for eight again... Remember, the next chapter will not go up until I get at least 8! So R&R! Enjoy!

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I couldn't believe it. Here I was, in the middle of a near battle scene, and I was the only one who seemed the least bit scared! Even Meg's hand had stopped shaking, and instead, her face showed resolve and disgust. Everyone had on looks of either hatred, determination, or, excitement it seemed. Didn't they know how strong these vampires were? What they could do?

I huddled into Meg's shoulder, trying not to look in Jason's direction again. How could he be fighting with Caleb? Even stand to be near him. And he had promised me that he wouldn't let anything hurt me. Ha. Apparently he didn't think as highly of promises as I did.

Without a moments warning, suddenly half of Meg's group, about 10, leaped towards the group of vampires. I hardly had time to let out a surprised and fearful gasp before something amazing happened, that if I hadn't been watching for myself I wouldn't have believed it. Well, I still wasn't quite sure, even though I had seen. All 10 suddenly convulsed in the air. Their bodies seemed to tear from the inside out, and pieces of cloth flew in all directions. In less then a half second, these people were no longer people; there were giant wolves where their bodies should have been.

A look of surprise crossed Caleb's face, but his cool calm returned just as soon as it had left.

The wolves hit the front line of vampires with such strength the noise echoed through the trees and the yard, sounding like a clap of thunder. I couldn't see anything else. They were all moving so fast that they seemed to be blurred shapes. I looked up at Meg, in utter amazement. She looked slightly concerned, but surprise lit up her features too, just before she pushed me to the ground. Hard. All my previous bruises and aches made the fall worse, once again knocking the breathe out of me.

Something whizzed past my head. Several something's. I opened my eyes, and saw that the last group of people had also joined the fight. Apparently the something's that had almost hit me were arrows being flung towards our group by the vampires in the back of the other pack. But these were easily dodged by Meg's comrades. Instead of falling back, they advanced on the other group. They were armed with silver daggers, and when they were advancing, I could see that they weren't just untrained people. The way they moved screamed out the fact that they were warriors, slayers I guess, if you kept with all that terminology.

Once they had passed us, and had started to fight with the rest of the vampires, well, it looked more like dancing if you asked me, the way that they were circling and sidestepping each other, Meg pulled me to my feet, and pushed me away from all the fighting and the noise, towards the forest. But before we could get more than a couple of feet, Caleb materialized in front of us, on the edge of the trees, with Jason.

We stopped short; Meg looked wary, and she glanced around, trying to find help. But they were all fighting. No one was there to help us. It was just her and me and the two creatures I hated most.

'Leaving so soon? I thought you would stay to watch. Are you perhaps deserting your so called friends?' Caleb sneered at us, his voice laced with malice.

Meg's body was tensed, and the hatred rolled off her in waves. She pulled out a dagger like the ones the other slayers had, and held it loosely by her side.

'Oh, so are we threatening each other now? I didn't do anything that would warrant this kind of reception.'

'Yea? What do you call this?' Meg pushed my hair back to reveal the marks on my neck. 'I think that's plenty of reason.'

A piercing howl followed by a terrible crashing sound caused all four of us to look back at the battle.

Meg, however, turned back to our situation first and took advantage of Jason and Caleb's distraction. She jumped at them, hitting Caleb and sending him crashing into Jason.

'Run!' she screamed at me.

I didn't think twice. He had betrayed me; guess that canceled both our promises. I launched myself into the trees, struggling through the tick undergrowth. Minutes; hours passed as I numbly stumbled along. I was trying to go straight, but I couldn't tell, the trees all seemed the same.

It was starting to get dark and I was barely making progress anymore. My feet had gone numb hours ago; my body was protesting with every step, and my skin was covered in cuts and scratches from the branches and thorns that I had blindly ran through.

I still couldn't believe I had gotten away; that no one had followed me. But my mind was sick with worry about Meg, and all the others who had fought to rescue me. That's what it came down to. If any of them had gotten hurt it was my fault; because without me they wouldn't have been there to begin with.

My legs finally gave way beneath me and I collapsed onto the leaves under a giant oak tree. I laid my head down on my arm and closed my eyes. I needed to rest so bad…

Something brushed across my cheek, causing my eyes to snap open. Oh gosh… how long had I been out? It was completely dark outside now, I shouldn't ever have given in. I just laid there not breathing, listening for sounds, trying to figure out what was around me.

When I felt a hand wrap around my wrists, I struggled to get up, but between the gentle pressure keeping my hands down and the utter fatigue that had taken over my body, I didn't have the energy to fight. Instead, I just turned my head to at least see who had found me.

Jason's face swam above me, concern written across his features. I turned my head away in disgust, and then felt him lifting my chin up; his thumb stroking my cheek. I recoiled, squirming as far away as I could, seeing as he still held my wrists.

'Shea, look at me.' When he got no response, I heard him sigh and settle onto the leaves beside me.

'I know your mad. Furious even. And your probably feeling betrayed and crushed, and hurt. You have every right to feel the way you do. But you need to understand, Shea. I didn't have a choice. I had to stay on his side.'

'You did have a choice. You promised me, you'd never let anyone hurt me again. But you lied. By hurting Meg's friends you hurt me.' I spat at him, without opening my eyes.

'But don't you see love? I couldn't openly join your side. They would have killed me the second I tried. But by staying I guaranteed your safety. Caleb wouldn't dare hurt you.'

I opened my eyes to look into his. 'How can you know? How do you know he won't hurt me?'

Jason sighed again, putting his hand in my hair and holding my hand with his other one rather than grasping my wrist. 'I didn't want to tell you this, but Caleb, as you've probably figured out, is the leader of the council; sort of like the vampire king I guess you could call him. Well, that was supposed to be me.' He looked down and a look of regret crossed his face.

'By birth, it was my job. But I refused it, so Caleb, my cousin, was next in line. He's always known that if I wanted, I could take it all from him. But I don't want it. That's why I gave it up in the first place. I hate what I am, so how could I just give into that lifestyle? I couldn't, so I gave it all up. I have almost no power now, but Caleb always listens to me when I give him a direct order. So when I say he won't hurt you, trust me, I mean it.'

The anger had drained out of me, seeing the sadness and regret that was eating at him.

I struggled to sit up and lifted my free hand up to his face and he leaned his cheek into it.

His eyes opened to stare into mine. They seemed to be looking right through me and I fell into them. My heart sped up, the blood rushing up to my face. He leaned his head in towards mine and gently pressed his lips to my forehead. I closed my eyes, and he kissed each eyelid, then trailed his lips down the bridge of my nose to the tip. Gently he kissed each corner of my mouth before pressing his lips against mine.

The kiss was gentle, unrushed; as though he had all of eternity. He put one hand behind my head and the other tangled in my hair. My arms wrapped up around his neck and my fingers settled into the soft hair at the base of his head.

When I ran out of air, I broke away, and he put his forehead to mine, looking across at me. My face was flushed and warm, and I was breathing heavily. He chuckled, putting his cold hand to my cheek.

'Your so warm… it's nice to feel warmth like this again.' He smiled, but then he pulled back and I was confused as his face became slightly annoyed.

'Your sister's on her way. She'll be here in less than ten minutes. It's probably better if I'm not here when she comes.' He grimaced slightly then looked back at me seriously.

'I need to ask you something very serious, Shea. Remember, its totally up to you, and I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to.'

I waited as he paused, looking at me, gauging my reaction.

'Shea, would you let me bond you to me?'

I just looked at him, confused. Bond? What the heck did that mean?

'All I would do would be bite you, and leave a bit of my venom in your body. I swear it wouldn't hurt, it would just let me know where you are, and make sure your safe.' He said this nervously all in a rush, as though afraid that I would react violently.

'Okay.'

'Okay? That's it? No… no, oh gosh your gonna kill me? Or no way? Just like that? Do you trust me that much?'

I though about it for a minute. I realized that no matter how mad I had been at him earlier, it hadn't changed how I felt about him. I was more positive then ever that he wouldn't hurt me purpose, and I trusted him with my life. I didn't know how Meg would react if she found out, but this was about me right? I'd just deal with that later, if I needed to tell her at all.

'Yes. I'm sure. I do trust you, now, just don't you go breaking that trust.'

'I won't, I swear.' He kissed me quickly, and then took my arm.

'Now, I've never don't this before, but at the most all that will happen is you'll feel a sting, I promise it won't hurt like the last time.' I shuddered at that thought.

'Are you sure? After I do this, you can't take it back.'

'Yes, I'm sure,' I smiled encouragingly at him.

All the time watching my face, be brought the inside of my elbow up to his mouth. I felt his fangs pierce my skin but the pain was dulled almost immediately by a cold numb. After a minute, he pulled back, and still holding my eyes with his, he whipped his mouth.

'Are you okay?' he asked anxiously.

'Yea, I'm fine. Didn't hurt at all.' It was the truth. I did feel fine, No different than I had a minute ago.

He turned his head over his shoulder again, looking into the trees.

'She's almost here, I should go.' He looked back at me, and getting up he placed a kiss on my forehead. I watched as he melted into the forest, blending with the trees.

No more than a minute later, in the opposite direction as Jason had gone four shapes emerged from the gloom. The one if front, spotting me, broke into a run. I struggled to stand, and Meg hit me, enveloping me in a giant bear hug, her sobs echoing in my ear.


	11. Conversation

And yet again another installment of SS. The review ratio is getting a lot better, about one out of every 20 people are reviewing! I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but it is definately better than what it has been in the past.. so thank you all for the encouragement!! Happy New Year to you all, and enjoy!! R & R PLEASE!!! I BEG OF YOU!

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'Shea, I thought, we lost you! We couldn't find you, and we looked and looked, and I was so worried, you out here in the forest alone and what with all them disappearing, we thought…' Meg's voice was shaking in my hear, her tears dampning my neck and shoulder. I squeezed her tightly, not only to comefort her, but also to help support my own weight.

'It's okay now Meg, I'm here, and so are you, and everything is going to be okay. Just calm down and talk to me.' I was usually the one who would be losing my cool, what with everything that had happened that day so far, but for some reason, I was extremely collected, increadably focused on Shea I forgot to think of anything but her.

I pushed away from her slightly, and pulled her down onto the leaves, and sat with her, holding her hands in mine.

'What happened after I left? I was so worried about all of you…'

Meg took a deep breathe, regaining her composure. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she looked at me, and gave me a half hearted smile.

'Well, after I told you to run, I fought for a minute with Caleb. I was trying to keep him with me, and to give you time to get away. Alice, one of the wolves you saw, came to help me, after she finished off the vampire she was fighting.' I shuddered a little at how casually she said this, as though it was nothing more then taking out the trash. 'She tried to grab the other one with him, but he slipped away into the woods before she could get a hold of him. She tried to help me with Caleb, but another 3 vampires attacked us from behind. When we were distracted, he vanished, leaving his army to deal with us by themselves. But one by one, the kept disappearing. I think that six or seven made it out; including Caleb, but I'm not sure of the exact count. We thought that they had gone after you, and I was so worried. I had everyone out searching for you that I could, but even the wolves lost your scent after a while, although we don't exactly know why. Although we did smell that vampire that was with Caleb, so I got worried, and when it took us so long to find you…'she broke off, looking at me. 'Anyways, you're here now which is all that really matters.' She squeezed me again, and then backed away.

'We need to go.' She turned back to the group that had come with her, and after a moment, she nodded her head as though she was agreeing with someone. Looking back at me, she asked, 'Shea. I know you've had a really rough day, but we need to keep moving. Since you don't exactly look like you have the energy would it be okay if one of us carried you?'

At this point, my body was so drained with emotion, on the verge of collapsing and refusing to move again. I just nodded my head. Before I had a chance to ask anything, a large man, probably in his mid twenties scooped me up in his arms bridal style, and took off into the woods at a soft lope. The others kept pace with us, and finally, after a couple of minutes, I gave into the drooping of my eyelids, and I snuggled comefortably into the man's chest, and fell asleep.

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I woke up to the sound of someone humming gently, almost as though it was next to my ear. I opened my eyes and turned my head around to the side. Seeing nothing, I turned my head the other way, but I still couldn't see the source of the noise. Sitting up, I looked around the room where I was. It was a sitting room with two couches and an entertainment center along with a couple of lamps. A hall led off to the left of the couch that I was laying on, and a window was to the right. I streached my stiff muscles, and continued to look for the source of the noise. The humming was growing slightly fainter, and it seemed almost as if a sense of peace and tranquility was going with it.

_Don't go…_ I thought mentally.

_**I'll never go Shea… I'm always here. You don't have to worry. **_I jumped up, standing quickly, my eyes darting around the room, searching for the speaker. I hadn't just imagined that had I? Was the stress of the past week or two catching up with me? Was I really going crazy? After all, isn't hearing voices the first sign of madness?

_**No, **__**your**__** not crazy Shea. Maybe I should explain. It's Jason. **_

I started. Okay. I definitely heard it that time. And I realized that it wasn't coming from the room. The voice was inside my head.

_**One of the side **__**affects**__** of bonding is that I can talk to you through your mind. And you can talk to me. **_

'What do you mean talk? Can you read my thoughts?' I talked out loud, since I didn't know what else to do, and I sank back down onto the couch.

_**There's no need to talk out loud. Just think what you want me to hear, and I'll hear it. I guess you could say it's like reading your mind, but I can't see everything. Only what **__**your**__** thinking about at the moment, and then only if you'll let me hear. **_

_So like this…? _I thought cautiously, slowly and tentively.

_**Exactly! It really isn't that hard. In fact, **__**its**__** actually very convenient sometimes. **_

I thought for a second then asked, _So can you do this with other vampires? I mean, is that why you all always seem to be having conversations even though you aren't talking? _

**_For the most part. Are you okay? How did Meg take the news?_**

_I sat for a minute, not answering._

_**You didn't tell her did you? **It wasn't a question._

_No… I didn't have an opportunity… he snorted in disbelief. Okay, maybe I just didn't want to tell her yet. She's going to flip… maybe I should have thought about it more… _

_Jason was silent in my head. No… I didn't mean it like that, I just meant that I should have thought about Meg, and what this would do to her a little more. I'm not regretting anything… but…_

_**I understand. Don't worry, I'm sure that everything is going to work out. **He paused. **I won't ask you where you are… but I'll be there in an instant if you need me. **_

_Thanks. _

_I got up from the couch. My mind started to drift, but I checked my mind quickly. Can you hear my thoughts if I'm just thinking to myself?_

**_No. Only if you want me to hear you. You have to direct the thoughts to me._**

_Okay._

I made my way down the hallway, and peering through the doorways as I passed, I finally found the kitchen, and went in. A man was sitting at the table. He seemed to be in his late twenties with black hair and bushy eyebrows. A wedding band glinted on his left ring finger.

I hadn't thought about it before… but these people had to have families too. Were their families shadowed by hidden secrets too? Did his wife know where he was, or was she as clueless as I had been?

He looked up from the paper he was reading, and smiled. 'Morning. Or should I say afternoon?' I glanced at the clock. It was after twelve. I had no clue what time we had gotten here, and therefore wasn't sure as to how long I had actually slept for.

'Meg went out for a little while, but she should be back in within the hour. She said if you woke up before she came back, that your to grab something to eat, and then if you want, her room is down the hall, the last door on your right, if you want to wait for her in there.' I thanked him, and as he went back to his paper I opened the fridge and searched the contents. The only thing I found of value was a banana, and a bag of pretzels on the counter. So I grabbed the two and headed down the hall to Meg's room to await her return.


	12. Answers

Wow eight reviews in the past week without even being asked! I'm very impressed.. so thank you to everyone who reveiewed!!! We're almost at a hundred total... that's my goal.. not necessaceraly in this one chapter, but within the next couple. Okay, i'm going to try something a lil different. Before i post the next chapter i want' to know how what you guys think i should do to improve the story. Anything at all, whether it's grammer, or even the story plot. But I'm won't post the next chapter until i get at least three (I'll make it easy) opinions on how to make it better. So please keep that in mind when you REVIEW!!

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I opened the door and entered into a dimly lit room. Light was seeping through thin curtains pulled across a small window across from the door where I was standing. The space was large enough to accommodate a twin sized bed and a small writing desk. There wasn't much room to move around; about three feet between the door and the foot of the bed, with the desk about six feet to the right, and a small closet right beside the door. The walls were a pale cream color, and the comforter on the bed was an aqua swirled with white and brown.

I stepped into the room and shut the door behind me. So this was where Meg stayed. I wondered how much she was actually here, and if she even went to college, or had ever gone. So much I thought that I had known about my sister and the world, was being thrown out like trash into the dumpster. I guess it goes to show that you never really know someone completely.

On the desk was a laptop sitting amidst stacks of paper. Some of it was organized neatly along the wall, but most was just strewn about the desktop, and the wastebasket sitting on the floor was full of crumpled up sheets. I went over to the mess, and just looked at a couple of sheets on the top. It wasn't like I was snooping or anything, I was just looking. Quite a few of the papers had a bunch of numbers on it, almost as if they were bank statements, but I couldn't find a company or bank name on them. Another group contained drawings of buildings and maps of roads. These sheets were marked up with red and blue pen marks; full of arrows, lines, stars, and numbers.

Since these didn't mean much to me, I just kept flipping through the papers until I came across a little book, bound in black leather with the word Journal running up the spine. Looking back at the door for a second, I debated if I should open it. Would I get in trouble if Meg caught me flipping through her things? Well, I guess I just couldn't get caught.

I opened to book to the middle, revealing slanted script flowing across the pages. The first page I opened to was June 27th.

"Well, today was another good day for us. We got news of a skirmish on the eastern boarders of our territory, and all the reports are that we beat the bloodsuckers, with only a couple injuries. Only one got away, but Carlisle says that he was only a foot soldier, and he was badly wounded when they lost his scent. So hopefully he doesn't make it back to his camp…"

I flipped through a couple more pages and landed on July 19th.

"Bad news came in from Jeremy today. Will was captured by the Northern tribes, and there hasn't been any word on his condition. Maybe they're holding him as bargaining tool, but more than likely, as much as I hate to say this, he probably will only be used to bait us into a trap. And we can't take that risk. I just don't want to have to tell his family…"

I shuddered and thought about Will. Did they ever find him? The poor soul. I just wished I knew what all this talk was about the tribes.

"August 3

I cannot believe it! They took Shea today… the filthy vermin! Just wait until I get my hands on him. I will kill him myself, I don't care what Carlisle and the others on the board say. I will not leave him alive."

I never realized how strongly Meg had felt about me. I had always thought that I was just the annoying younger sister. But apparently she held me in much higher esteem that I had thought. I flipped a couple of pages ahead and landed on August 7th.

"I should have known all along that it was Jason. I figured that he wouldn't keep his promise for that long, and I was foolish to think he actually had repented. When he came to talk to me about…"

Footsteps thudded down the hallway towards the bedroom door. I slammed the journal shut and pushed it back onto the desk, covering it back up with the mess of papers, and jumped onto Meg's bed and watched the door.

Carrying a bag full of paper and notebooks, Meg entered the room and smiled when she saw me.

'Carlisle told me that you had woken up and come in here.' She put the bag on her desk, and eyeing the bag of pretzels that I had left unopened on her bed, she sat in the desk's chair, pulling it to face me.

'Can I have some of those?' She pointed towards the pretzels, and I nodded, preoccupied with my own thoughts. Carlisle? Was the man out there the same one that Meg had written about?

'I'm sure that you have a couple questions, and I'd like to set straight anything that those vermin told you. First off start with telling me what you know.'

I recounted everything that Jason had told me and the things that I had connected and put together myself. When I got to the part about Caleb calling her Psyche-Rahal she laughed out loud.

'Is that what they're calling me now? They hold to the old prophecies just a little too much. That's not my actual name, just so you know. My name, as you well know is Meg Mathros. Let me explain. Around the time that Jacqueline was killed, an astrology professor made a prophecy about the return of her descendant, who would be named Psyche-Rahal. No one took him seriously at the time, and when I was born, and named Meg, it took the people of the resistance some time to realize that I was the one in that prophecy.' Seeing the look on my face Meg explained. 'Even though there was no official resistance anymore after Jacqueline's death, a group of people still tried to control the vampire population, and keep tabs on the movements of the underworld, which is what we call the vampire, werewolf, and slayer community. Anyways, the astrology professor had been right about the return of another of the Slayer Royalty. The only wrong thing was the name.'

'Wait, so…' I hesitated, not wanting to sound dumb. 'If you're a descendent of Jacqueline, wouldn't that mean I am too?' Meg must have seen the uncertainty on my face.

'Good, you've been thinking about things! Well,' a grimace crossed her face. 'I hate to have to tell you this, but before you were born, mom had an affair with a man who wasn't your dad.' I gasped. I had never heard this before. As far as I knew, mom had always been faithful, and Meg was my full sister.

'So, my dad and yours aren't exactly the same people. My dad was the descent of Jacqueline. So that's where I get the blood from. When James (AN: that's Shea's father) found out, he decided it would just be best to forget it, and he raised me as my own. I only found out a couple of years ago, when the Resistance approached me. But that's another long story that I don't think we should go into right now.'

My mind reeled. Over the last week, my world had been thrown up in the air, smashed on the floor and then stomped on. Apparently the entire life I had been living was a lie.

'Was I the only one, I mean, did mom and dad know about this… resistance?'

Meg shook her head. 'We thought it would be better if they didn't know. It would put them in less danger, seeing as they had nothing to do with the war to begin with. And look at what good secrecy did us.' She smiled, but it was a tight smile that didn't quite reach up to her eyes.

A sudden voice boomed in my head, causing me to jump.

_**Shea, I need to know where you are. Now! **_

Meg saw me jump, and looked at me in concern. 'Are you okay?'

_**NOW SHEA!**_

'Yea, sorry. It was just a cold chill. Um,' I looked towards the window. 'So where are we exactly?'

'Up in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It's a place that Carlisle found a couple of years back. Very remote and quiet. Perfect for what we need, being the resistance headquarters and everything. And it's not big and elaborate, which makes in inconspicuous.'

'Oh.' I nodded, trying to look interested.

_She said we're up in some cabin in the Rockies in Colorado. Why? _

He didn't answer me, no matter how many times I asked him why. So finally I decided that apparently it hadn't been that big a deal. Just overprotective I guess.

Meg leaned back in her chair again, propping her feet up on the bed. 'So would you like to learn a little more about Jason? Some of the things that he didn't tell you?'

Nodding, I settled back against the wall next to the bed, and hoped that what she was about to tell me wasn't too bad. I realized that I really didn't know much about this man who I had pretty much pledged my life to, well, at least, who I had given access to my head.

'Well, I'm sure that he didn't tell you about the promises that he made to the board and me. When he was younger, and he was destined to become king, he came to us, saying that he didn't want to follow in the same lifestyle as his father, and he asked us for help. We told him that if he pledged to leave the vampire community completely and disassociate with his family, that we would take him under our wing, in a manner of speaking. You see, we are not a bias group. Well, to an extent. If someone is genuinely repentant, he cannot help what he has been born as, so why should we hold that against him? So we told him to come to our side. We told him to help us get inside information. For a while he seemed genuine. He gave us inside info on the running of the Council, and he always kept us one step ahead of them. He even approached me about becoming your guard. You, mom, and dad, I mean. I was so foolish. I had thought… well anyways, that all changed. He started to become more secretive and less open with the council. He was seen at the local known vampire haunts. The final nail in the coffin, no pun intended, was when he led a group of vampires against our army in the south. He had taken the battle plans to one of our generals, so he knew our strategy. Without warning, he flipped sides, and attacked us when he knew we wouldn't be ready. Forty of us were killed that day Shea. He turned on us, and watched us get slaughtered. Then he took off, and before we could locate him, you were gone.'

I just sat there shocked. How could he have done such a thing? Had everything he said to me been a lie? Well, I guess not, but he hadn't told me the truth either. And I had trusted him. I had trusted the little bastard. I froze up in horror at just how far I had trusted him. I had told him where we were. He knew where to find us.


	13. Preperation

Thank you all for the GREAT reviews that I got... and I'm sorry that once again its taken me so long to post... I'm not very good at staying on top of things, in case any of you couldn't already tell. Well, there's only going to be a couple more chapters... 3 at the most. We're getting close!! It's so sad, but as all of you writers know, when a story is over, it's over and there isn't much you can do about it. So I hope you all enjoy this... and my goal is to have the next chapter up before Monday. So make sure you review, and keep me motivated.. and maybe we'll hit a HUNDRED!!!!!

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I shot up off of the bed. 'Meg… oh my gosh, Meg, I was so stupid…' tears started to roll down my cheeks. 'We need to get out of here, now. They're coming Meg! We have to go...' I was nearly hysterical in fright and disbelief.

Meg stood too, and grabbed me, pulling me into a hug. 'What happened Shea? Why do we need to go? Who's coming?'

'Jason! He's coming! I told him where we were… I was so stupid…' I cried harder, barely able to get the words out.

'What do you mean you told him? How could you have done that?'

'My head Meg. He's in my head.'

I felt her freeze. She stopped rocking me, her breathing got heavier. 'Oh my god, Shea… he didn't… you didn't… oh my god.' She pulled away, looking hard into my face. 'When did he do this to you?'

'In the woods… last night... he… I wasn't thinking straight.'

'No, Shea, honey, don't say that. Vampires can have affects on us that we don't even recognize. I'm positive it isn't your fault; he probably persuaded you to do what he wanted.'

When I didn't answer, Meg let go of me and hurried to the door. Before opening it into the hallway, she turned back to me and said, 'Shea, I know this is really hard for you, but I need you to be strong. For me. We're going to have to fight again. But this time I guarantee he won't let us get away as easy as he did last time. No matter how hard this is going to be I need you to stay strong. Just keep in mind what we are fighting for.'

She gave me one last look and turned out into the hallway. I stepped out of the room, but not before looking back at the journal lying on the desk one last time. I wished I had more time to look through it, and see if it contained any of the answers that I was looking for. Shaking my head I headed out after Meg.

_Jason, you sick monster answer me! I want to know what you are going to do! You promised me, but I guess promises don't mean a __stinkin__' thing do they!!!!_

All that greeted me was silence.

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(Meg's POV)

I rushed out of my room, away from Shea. I needed to clear my head. It was all too much to think about right now. How could this happen? I mean, HOW!?!? Now I had a major catastrophe on my hands. What on earth were we going to do? The cabin we were in was a dead end. A good place to defend, but nowhere to go. About a mile to the north, if that, was a string of cliffs running straight down for about a mile. These swung around to the west, cutting off any hope of escape from that direction. Then to the south was a large river, too large to swim across, and our boats were downstream, too far away to come to our rescue. The only chance was to the east, but if I was going to rely on what Shea told me, the bloodsuckers would already be heading from that direction.

The only chance we had was to stand and fight. Defend our position. There weren't enough of the Resistance to put up a full frontal attack to run them off. But maybe we could hold out for long enough.

I headed out towards the kitchen and found Carlisle still sitting at the table immersed in the paper. He looked up when I entered, a small smile on his face.

'Hey. Look at this. A couple of teena…' but he didn't finish his sentence, because seeing the look on my

face he stopped dead. 'What's wrong Meg?'

'He… I can't believe… 'I took a deep sigh, and continued a little bit calmer. 'We need to call Jeremy and see if he's anywhere near here. Get Adrian on the phone, and tell him to round up all of our pack and bring them down here within the next half hour. Then go out and get the gates ready, and brace them for an attack. You know the drill. We've practiced it enough, now its time to put it into action.' I stopped rambling and looked at Carlisle's face. It was frozen in confusion, and a hint of fear.

I took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. 'They're coming Carlisle. It's going to be all of them this time, and they're going to try and take us out. We don't have much time. We have to act fast, and it's going to be hard, but we can do it. Just listen to what I said, and we'll be fine.' Even I could hear the false hope in my voice. It wasn't all going to be fine. We were getting ready for the biggest battle of our lives, and we weren't anywhere close to prepared.

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(still Meg's POV)

As it turned out, Jeremy was about two and a half hours away with about 75 men, but Adrian was only able to round up 47 before he showed up at the castle gates. With the people who were already stationed around the fort we were staying in, that put us at a total of about 100 until Jeremy got here. But if my guess was right, then we would already be in the midst of battle by the time he showed up.

It had been about an hour since I had found out about Jason and Shea, and in that time we had prepared the gates and the walls that surrounded the cottage, and had come up with a rather hasty battle plan.

I went back into the house to find Shea after going over the plans once more with Carlisle and Adrian. I found her huddled in the corner of the couch, with her eyes closed, faced screwed up in concentration.

'He's not going to answer you Shea. You can stop giving yourself a headache by trying so hard.'

She started and looked up at me. 'How did you know…' she paused, shaking her head slowly. 'Never mind. I keep thinking I hear something, but it's really faint. It's almost like he's trying to tell me something, but he can't…' she stopped again, and I saw tears pooling at the corners of her eyes, and leaking out. 'I just can't believe he would do this. He… he… promised me.'

I sat down at the other end of the couch, bringing my knees up to my chin, and looking at Shea over my legs.

'Sometimes, promises, well, they don't mean as much to other people as they do to us.'

'I know, I'm not stupid, I just…'

She was interrupted by an enormous crash coming from outside. We both jumped up to our feet, and I rushed over to the side door that led out onto the front porch. As another crashing sound erupted in the air (this time I could feel the ground shake), I threw open the door, and saw to my utter horror, a vampire army, holding a battering ram, breaking down our gate.

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Haha... cliffy... that's why i'll have the next chapter up faster. And I'm thinking that since this story is almost done I might go back and revise it... add things, and make it more in depth.. etc. so if you have ANY ideas at all... PLEASE let me know!!


	14. Final Battle

Hey everyone! Here's the second to last chapter... yes I know it's sad, but all things have to end. Before you start to read, however, I just wanted to apologize to all of you who have been following and reading my story, and who I left hanging with the last chapter. I ended up getting sick for a week, and I wasn't able to even get on the computer, and then my computer program (which had the rest of this story) stopped working so I had to get it fixed. So I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that it took so long to get this up, and I hope that it was worth the wait! AND WE REACHED 100 REVIEWS!!!!!!!! YEA!!!! I'm sooooo happy,... thank you all so much!!!! so without any more ado, Sweet Surrender!

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(Shea's POV) 

I stepped out of the door behind Meg, and the scene before my eyes was utter chaos. Our people (as I was starting to think of them) were rushing around the inside of the wall, trying to repair as much damage to the wall as they could, but the ram kept beating on the gate, and there wasn't much they could do about that. My mind almost shut down. It seemed like I was looking at the scene from behind the eyes of someone else. This was it. They had come for us, and now they were going to kill us. There was no way out. Sure, we had our own army, but judging by the size of theirs, we didn't stand much of a chance.

Meg turned quickly around to face me, and pulled a silver knife out of her sleeve; approximately eight inches in length, it was light in my hands. Without any explanation, Meg just gave me one last look, and turned back, rushing down into the chaos.

I faintly heard Meg shouting out above the noise to Carlisle and Adrian, gathering the men together to try and block the gate with their own bodies when the metal and rock finally broke. I saw the fear in the faces of the men and women, and I could smell the sweat, and smell of something burning. Flames licked over the tops of the trees, confirming that they had set some of the woods ablaze to try and keep us from running.

Just as the gates gave way with a mighty crashing, I felt myself being pulled backwards, back into the house. A young woman of about twenty or so was pulling me through the halls and into Meg's room, the furthest room from the front gates. Five people stood around me, two women and three men, including the woman who had brought me in. They all had their eyes on the door and windows, and they had formed almost a semi-circle around me.

The girl was the one to speak, and tell me what was going on. 'Our orders are to keep you safe. No matter what happens, we are here to protect you, do you understand that? Don't worry about what happens to us… the main thing is to keep you alive. If anything happens to us, then I need you to run. Go and find either Meg, Adrian or Carlisle. Do you understand?'

I nodded, showing her that I understood perfectly, even if I didn't agree with the plan. These people shouldn't be here guarding me! They should be out there; fighting for their freedom, for the chance to escape! But before I could do much more thinking, I loud crash came from the front of the house. All eyes turned towards the door, and the group positioned themselves between me and the oncoming threat.

Before any of us were really ready, the door of the bedroom was smashed in, and two men came in, both dressed in tight black clothing, blood dripping from their faces. They launched themselves at the guards, and just like on the grounds of the mansion, I couldn't see what was happening, they were moving so fast.

Another set of four vampires entered the room just as one of the first two fell to the floor dead. The girl who had brought me into the room was holding her arm, trying to stop the bleeding, while one of the men was still in a deadly dance with the vampire. I just watched, terrified that one of them would turn on me. I clutched the silver knife in my hand tightly, ready to use it if I had to.

One of the men who were guarding me fell to the ground, not moving, not breathing, just as another vampire came into the room, having smelled the scent of blood and death. It was now almost two to one. I heard one of the men shout at me, 'Shea, run! We can't…' before he was slashed down. I glanced towards the door, but my escape was cut off in that direction. My only hope was through the window. I hurdled over the bed and hit the window with my shoulder, trying to pop the screen out, seeing as the glass was already open. The screen ripped under my weight, and I scrambled through the frame, away from the chaos inside.

However, outside was no better. Bodies were strewn everywhere, but since I wasn't sure who all the people were from our army, I couldn't be sure who was suffering the most casualties. I searched the grounds quickly, trying to find someone I could run to. I saw Carlisle in the distance, with a small band of men. I turned my feet to run towards him, but was stopped by a hand grabbing me roughly by the arm.

'And where might I ask, do you think you're going? Didn't you know I would find you eventually?'

My heart stopped beating. I swear it did. I couldn't breathe. My lungs had closed.

I was spun around the face the smug, sneering face of Caleb. 'I'm so glad that I found you! You have no idea how much trouble you've save me by just happening to pass by my post. But I guess I just have good luck.'

'Let go of me.' I tried to sound tough and unafraid, but I'm sad to say that my voice didn't sound intimidating at all. I sounded rather like a mouse caught in a corner by the house cat.

'And why would I want to do that? Your skin is so soft and warm…' He ran his thumb along the bare skin of my arm and I shuddered. He pushed me up against the wall, and leaned in towards my neck. But instead of biting me, he just ran his nose along my jaw line. I would have hit him if I hadn't been pinned.

'Let her go.' A voice growled from behind Caleb and I opened my eyes to see Jason standing there, hands by his sides. He would have looked completely calm if his eyes hadn't given him away. They were a deep red with anger.

Caleb put his forehead to my neck, and I could feel his mouth turn up in a smile. 'Now, why would I want to do that? I am enjoying myself. If you come back in, lets say, 20 minutes…' he let the sentence hang, and ran his hand suggestively around my stomach.

'I said, don't touch her,' I could hear the growl in Jason's voice, and saw him advance a step towards Caleb's back.

Backing up from me a little Caleb turned around to face Jason, but still had me pinned to the wall with his back and hands. 'I heard you the first time. I think, however, that this time, I'm going to keep this one for myself. So if you would be so kind…'

But Caleb didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. Jason launched himself at Caleb, fangs bared, fists flying. Caleb flung me sideways into the ground. But with the fighting going on all around me, I didn't have anywhere to go, so I curled up behind one of the bushes that sat next to the house. Peeking through the branches I could see the two whirling around each other. A quick look at Jason, when he stood still, showed blood trickling down his face from a cut above his eye, and he seemed to be favoring his one leg. Caleb sported a cut to his cheek, but seemed otherwise to be unharmed.

I closed my eyes and prayed. Please, let Jason be okay. I didn't know why I wanted him unhurt, seeing as it looked like he had led Caleb's army right to us. But he was fighting for me now, and I couldn't stand seeing more people hurt and dying just to protect my life.

A cold fist grabbed my hair and yanked me out from behind the bush. I was pushed up against the wall with Caleb standing about 5 feet away, pointing a crossbow at me. The silver tipped arrow glinted as it pointed at my chest. How he had gotten that, I had no idea. Probably one of his vampire 'magic' tricks. Jason was on the ground to my left, looking at us with fear, hatred, and pity in his eyes. Fear of what was going to happen, hatred of Caleb, and pity for me. Although his eyes were back to that beautiful hazel color… wow, what your mind slips to when you are facing death.

'Well, well. It seems that I've won again. Doesn't it Jason?' Then looking at me, he said, 'and my love, I would dearly have loved to get to know you better, but I just don't think that's going to get to happen. The best thing for all of us right now is just to end this. I'm very sorry Shea… well, maybe not. Goodnight…'

I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the cold arrow to pierce my stomach. But the pain didn't come. Instead I felt a presence in front of me, blocking me from Caleb. I peeked my eyes open enough to see Jason standing between us. Caleb chuckled.

'Oh look at this. Could it be love? Eh, cousin? Do you really think that standing there is going to stop anything.' When Jason didn't answer Caleb laughed again. 'Well then, I guess you've picked.'

I heard the twang of the crossbow firing, but Jason didn't convulse in front of me. Instead I heard him gasp in horror, and I peaked around him to see Meg, the arrow protruding from her stomach. She clutched it in her hands, and looked up at Caleb, a glint in her eyes. With a last effort she hurled herself forward and plunged a silver knife into Caleb's heart. His eyes widened in surprise and confusion as he gasped his last breath and fell to the ground.

I pushed around Jason, and screamed running to Meg, who was laying back on the ground. Tears streaked down my face as I knelt before her. She looked up at me, breathing heavily and smiled a small smile.

'Meg, oh my Gosh Meg. Why did you…' I was hysterical at this point. Beyond feeling as I took her head in my lap.

She smiled up at me again, and whispered 'You have no idea Shea. How he looked at you. I couldn't let that die. I couldn't let… never mind. Just know that I love you. I love you so much Shea. Remember…' She faded, her eyes closing, her hand going limp in mine. My body was racking with sobs, and I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Jason's arms wrapped around me and we sat there, me crying, him comforting, until I couldn't cry anymore.


	15. Endings

I don't remember what happened after that. My mind went completely blank. My body was functioning, but my mind wasn't actually there. I vaguely remember Jason pulling me away from Meg's body and carrying me into the house. The fighting all around us had ceased, since both of the leaders had died. The vampire army had fled the grounds, and Meg's people had gathered around Jason and me until he shouted at them to clear off. For some reason that I couldn't understand they all listened to him.

He brought me into the same living room that I had woken up in that morning from his voice in my head and he sat down on the couch, curling me up on his lap, and stroking my head. The heavy, racking sobs had stopped and turned into silent tears falling from my eyes and onto my cheeks like glistening raindrops. After what seemed like hours of just laying there, I got the strength to look up at Jason's face. It was gazing at me with a look full of intensity and sorrow.

This made me angrier that anything else had made me all day. How could he have that look on his face?? He had just killed my sister, well, had a hand in it, and here he was, sitting there, rubbing my head with a look of SORROW on his face?!?!!?!?!

I couldn't stand it. I jumped up from his lap and stood staring at him in disgust.

'How DARE you? How DARE you sit there and look at me like that. It's your fault that she's dead. ALL YOUR FAULT. And you sit there acting like nothing happened! How could…'

But I was cut off by Jason exploding off the couch in anger. 'You don't even know anything about what happened. How can you make judgments when you don't know all the facts. So don't you dare tell me that it's my fault.'

This out burst stunned me into silence for a minute. I could feel more tears filling my eyes, but I held them back. 'Go ahead then. Explain it to me.' I spat out at him. I crossed my arms over my chest and stood watching him as he sighed and looked into my eyes, forcing me to turn my head.

'I swear to you that I didn't have anything to do with Caleb finding his way to you. I actually was behind him on that. I don't know how he found out, and honestly I don't care. It doesn't make a difference anyway. After I left you in the forest I went back to the castle. When I got there, Caleb confronted me wanting to know why I had gone after you. When I told him it was to find you and bring you back he didn't believe me. He bit me, which is by the way 'illegal' in vampire society, and tasted your blood in my veins. He knew then that I had betrayed him. That's when I shouted for you to tell me where you were. Caleb gave me a drink, called smokescreen for short, which blocked my communications with you. I was yelling for hours trying to get you to hear me, but apparently it didn't work.'

I thought back to the faint sounds that I had heard in my head, or at least thought that I had heard. Was he really telling the truth? Is that why he wouldn't answer me?

'He knocked me out and when I came to, I found out that Caleb had gone after you and Meg. I swear I got here as fast as I could. If I could have done anything differently…' he trailed off, looking at the carpet.

'Then answer me this. If that's what happened, why did you betray Meg in that fight in the south? She told me all about if Jason.'

He looked up at me, his eyes sorrowful again. 'Once again, I can explain. I wasn't the one who betrayed them. Yes, I had the battle plans, but I didn't use them against Meg. The plans were stolen by one of Caleb's men from my study. Caleb's army attacked using the plans they had stolen. I had nothing to do with that.'

I was starting to believe him. I mean, how could you not? He looked so truly sorry and sad about all of this that I couldn't believe he was lying. 'Okay. Then answer one more thing. Why? Why did you kidnap me Jason?'

Jason let out a long, heavy sigh and looked straight into my eyes. 'Well I couldn't well go running back to Meg could I? Not after she thought I had betrayed them. And Caleb wasn't all too keen with me either. The only reason he gave me a second chance was that the council wouldn't have taken to easy to the fact that the last of the real royal bloodline had been murdered. So I had to do something that would prove to him that I was back on his side. Something that I wouldn't have done if I was still with Meg. So I kidnapped you. In a way, I knew that if you were with me, somewhere I knew what was happening with you, I could keep you safe. Protect you if I could.' He patted a place on the sofa beside him. I went to sit, still keeping some distance between us, but relaxing a little bit now that some of my questions had been answered, and I had decided I could trust him again. At least a little.

'I know that's not good enough. I don't know if you can ever truly trust me again. But you need to know that I love you. More than I have ever loved anything or anyone in my entire life… well existence. I truly don't know what I would do if you left me forever. I would understand why you would, and don't think that I'd stop you. After all I've done to you and your family, I can see why you wouldn't want to be with me.' He reached across the space between us and gently grabbed my hand, holding it firmly between the two of his, and staring into my eyes, looking, it seemed, into my soul once again.

I remembered what Meg had said as she lay in my arms. '_The way he looked at you. I couldn't let that die.'_ Had she seen that look in his eyes too? I knew deep in my soul that he loved me and would never purposely hurt me. How could I have ever doubted it? Meg didn't die for nothing. She died to save Jason. To save his love for me and to save me from an even greater hurt.

I leaned across the space between us, and smiled a little as I saw the surprise in Jason's eyes as I leaned in to kiss his lips.

…

(two weeks later)

'Are you ready?' Jason looked at me with anxious eyes. His beautiful sky blue eyes. I loved how they changed color, depending on how he felt. It was one of the many things that I loved about him. He looked absolutely stunning in an elaborate black suit. His hair, as much as I had tried to tame it with gel and mousse still flopped over his forehead and into his eyes.

I nodded, looking down at my own ensemble. I wore a black dress to match his suit. It was strapless, with a tight corset-like middle, and layered fabric falling to my feet. I was wearing beautiful heels, not too high so I wouldn't trip, and a diamond bracelet that Jason had bought me just for this occasion. I brushed my bangs out of my eyes, and reached back to fix my elaborate updo one last time.

'Okay, I'm ready.'

Two footmen opened the double doors in front of us and a ballroom filled with people entered my vision. I put my left hand in his right. The diamond on my ring finger sparkled in the light before it was hidden by Jason's fingers closing around mine. I took a deep breath and stepped with him into the room.

Even though I usually wasn't too good in front of large crowds, I felt confident with Jason by my side. We walked through the middle of the room, hand in hand, to the far wall. As we turned, Jason squeezed my hand tightly, and began to talk.

'Ladies and Gentlemen of the Council, and our wonderful guests,' he nodded first in the direction of the people from the vampire council, and then to a group of men and women from Meg's elite group standing on the other side of the room. 'I want to thank all of you for coming today to celebrate the signing of the peace treaty. It is something that we should all be proud of, and that I hope will develop a long, lasting friendship. Now I know that there are going to be some hard times and disagreements between the two sides, but this treaty shows me that anything is possible, and that we will be able to work it out if we are willing to compromise. So please, I hope you all enjoy the ball, and I wish you all the best.'

The crowd turned away and started to talk amongst each other again, as the music started to play. Jason looked back at me, a twinkle in his eye. 'Now that wasn't too bad, was it? Even if they were all looking at us.' He laughed when I hit his arm, trying not to think about it, even though he was right, it hadn't been that bad.

Suddenly, Jason bowed to me and held out his hand. 'May I have this dance, my beautiful queen?'

'You may, your majesty.' I curtsied and took his hand, looking into his eyes and smiling as he led me out onto the dance floor.


	16. Author's Note

No, unfortunatly this is not another chapter to the story... just an author's note.

Sweet Surrender, sadly, has come to an end. I sincerely hope that all of you who read it enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I want to thank everybody who reviewed. Truly if it wern't for you guys, I wouln't have finished this story. Around the fourth or fifth chapter I was ready to stop but all of you kept me motivated. If there is any questions that I didn't answer in the story, or somehting that you think didn't get tied up properly, then PLEASE tell me so I can try to fix it. Just because it's finished don't be afraid to give me ideas, or things that you think could have been better or changed. Because, is a story ever really finished? So, keep reviewing.. and hopefully I will see you all again in another story!

Sheba's Fire


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